Prank caller gets Ark. hotel to set off sprinklers

[June 10, 2009]  CONWAY, Ark. (AP) -- Authorities said a hotel suffered $50,000 in damages when a prank caller convinced an employee to set off the sprinkler system. The caller convinced the worker Saturday he was from the hotel's sprinkler system company, and that the system needed to be reset.

He put the worker through a series of steps that resulted in the sprinklers turning on. The caller then convinced the panicked clerk to break a window. Authorities said such pranks have happened before and hotels and other businesses have been warned to be wary. Police said a Little Rock hotel received a similar call over the weekend. ___ Information from: Log Cabin Democrat, http://www.thecabin.net/ [Associated Press] Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.